Basketball Cupcakes for March Madness

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Are you a Basketball fan? Well, even if you don’t usually watch the games, you may have heard, March Madness is upon us. And the Sweet Sixteen starts this weekend. For those of you throwing a March Madness Party, or celebrating…I created some Basketball Cupcakes, specifically IU Cupcakes for Hoosier fans!

The most important game of all {well at least to us} is on Friday when Indiana plays Kentucky. You see my good friend and fellow blogger, Tiffany from Eat at Home is from Kentucky…and of course…we are Hoosiers. So we have a little rivalry going on, not just a Basketball competition, but a CUPCAKE competition!

Blue Velvet vs Red Velvet = Kentucky vs Indiana

This is just a little ribbing between friends…Kentucky vs Indiana. But I think it’s pretty fun!

First, let’s chat a bit about the Indiana University {IU} decoration on the cupcakes. They are made with Candy Clay. I’ve mentioned candy clay a couple times before, so I thought it was high time I share with you how to make it.

In case you are like me, and don’t care for the taste of fondant or don’t like working with it, then Candy Clay is your answer!

I first learned how to make Candy Clay from a couple of my favorite cupcake decorators, Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, in their new book, Cupcakes, Cookies & Pies! oh my! It’s easy to work with, but does takes some planning since it needs to rest for 3 hours after you mix it. So no last minute cupcakes with the Candy Clay. You can certainly make up a batch, store it in a resealable bag and use what you need.

Melt candy wafers in the microwave, stopping every 20 seconds and stirring. It should take about 1 minute total. I stop when there are a few small pieces left and stir until completely melted, that way I don’t over cook it.

Add 1/3 cup corn syrup and stir until well combined. It will look a little grainy.

Place clay on a piece of plastic wrap, cover and let set for at least 3 hours at room temperature.

Add color if you are using white candy melts, add a little with a toothpick, it doesn’t take much {I learned that really quickly}

Need clay with your hands. You can wear plastic gloves if you want, the coloring did wash off my hands, but you may want to.

After the clay is completely colored, wrap in plastic wrap and let set about 15-20 minutes. I found it was a lot easier to work with after it had firmed back up.

Roll clay between 2 pieces of parchment paper to about 1/8 inch thick.

Directions for IU logo:

Print out logo from the computer

Cut out logo and place on candy clay

Cut out with sharp knife

Let it set on the parchment paper for a few minutes before you remove it, again, I found it easier to remove if it firms back up a little.

Place on cupcake

For the Basketballs, I frosted the cupcakes with a dark orange icing, combining orange and a little copper color, and then rolled the cupcake in orange sugar. The laces are black icing, piped on with a #3 decorator tip.

Now let’s make some Red Velvet Cupcakes – GO HOOSIERS!!

Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Delicious cupcakes. Recipe from HoosierHomemade.com

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups Flour

2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 cup Butter, softened

1 1/2 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1/2 teaspooon Wilton No-Taste Icing Color (no-taste is important to use, because red coloring can be very bitter)

In case you aren’t a Kentucky or Indiana fan…here are the March Madness Basketball Cupcakes I shared last year, complete with the Basketball Backboard and a video to show you how to make them.

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! I’d appreciate a link back and be sure to check out the other cupcakes!

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Hi Karen, unfortunately this post is several years old and I can not find the exact cupcake liners to show you. However, I did find these > http://amzn.to/1LWLgHR – they are scalloped at the top, but maybe you can trim that portion off. The cupcake liners that I used were some that I had for several years prior to making these basketball cupcakes.
~Liz

I do not like fondant at all, so when I saw this candy clay recipe I was estatic.
I plan on using candy clay to make my daughter’s Monster High birthday cake. It will be either a half or full size sheet cake. I know I will need pink, white, and black melts.
That being said, how much of each color do you think I would need to make it?

Hi Breanna, do you mean the candy clay? It can be made weeks ahead. We store ours in a Food Saver system bag and it stays perfect. If you don’t have a food saver, you can use resealable bags, be sure the air is out and maybe double bag. The clay will be hard, but don’t worry, just work in your hands to soften.
Hope that helps!
~Liz

Hi Casey, you might be able to use Almond Bark, you can find it in the baking aisle at most grocery stores. However, I’m not totally sure how it will work, as I haven’t tried it. They also sell candy melts on Amazon, but I’m not sure you can get that, just a suggestion.
Hope that helps!

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